ABOUT BIZEN WARE

Profile of Bizen ware

Bizen ware is a representative ceramic ware made in Bizen city, Okayama. Okayama prefucture is called “Hare no Kuni Okayama” due to having the most sunny days in Japan, and Bizen is located in the easternmost tip of “Hare no Kuni Okayama”.

Bizen ware has 6 representative types of kiln “Six old kilns of Japan(Rokkoyou)” which have continued to be used from the Middle Ages to now, and it is has the oldest history for 1000 years among Japanese ceramics.

The charm of Bizen cannot help but attract a ceramic artist not to mention a ceramic lover. Bizen has many more people more than 400 more producing then other ceramics production areas.

One reason the ceramic ware represents Japan is : It has produced five living national treasures(holders of important intangible cultural property) , the greatest amount received in ceramic ware.

It features simplicity produced by natural soil and fused by fire without glaze(yuuyaku). The simplicity feels warm, accenting the beauty of a dish served in it, or flowers arranged in it.

Only Bizen ware continued without changing the tradition of no glaze on pottery fired “Yakishime” style until now in six old kilns. Unglazed Bizen ware is said to be ” the beauty of the real face” whereas other ware with glaze is said to be ” the beauty of the makeup”.

The world feeling about Bizen ware is similar to “Wabi Sabi”, The masters of tea ceremony, Juko Murata, Rikyu Senno, Oribe Furuta and others who embody this in wabicha and Hideyoshi Toyotomi a producer of greatly tea parties, prefers Karamono “originated in China” .

Bizen ware is loved as art by many people, Bizen ware is good for decoration as art-objects and for flowers and serving food in. Long usage changes it to profound colors, and smooths the corners of the surface. You can enjoy using it for a very long time.

There is also great appeal for various effects. For example, you pour the beer and sake and tea in bizen ware and the taste becomes more mellow and delicious, In addition, bizen prolongs the freshness of flowers. ( Click in details “The power of Bizen ware”)

The natural beauty of Bizen ware comes out of the certainly accidental nature.

It is not possible to make the completely same thing as before, even if can be used the ceramist makes and fires it in the same way, it will be unique. It is strong so can be used throughout one’s life and it becomes even more tasteful if used so it is often likened as “the companion for life”
Bizen wares catch the hearts of people and are not to separated from them.

Many ceramists who inherited the long history, encourage each other and themselves to polish tradition, blow personality into the soil and still produce wonderful works. Those works attract not only Japan but also overseas people with profound beauty to feel warmth.